The children of the 1970s were first to wear suffocating, awkward masks so they could portray one of the scariest creatures they saw late Saturday nights on Chiller Theater out of Pittsburgh. That’s where they saw Frankenstein for the first time, and Dracula, wicked witches, and other frightening phantoms, too, so scaring their neighborhood was a part of the plan.
Those masks and the costumes were made with plastic, but wearing them was worth it because the “Fun Size” candy bars hadn’t been invented yet. That meant the Milky Ways, Clark Bars, Reese’s Cups, Snickers, Hershey’s, York Peppermint Patties, Twix, and Mounds bars were full size just like they were at the Minute Market.
Homemade costumes were popular, too, and those were mostly worn by pre-teens because Hill’s or G.C. Murphy did carry those sizes. As long as a child used only mother’s “costume jewelry” and didn’t cut eye holes into a new bed sheets, the return home was all about taking inventory. Three piles were the norm – favorites, second favorites, and what was offered to the parents or to brothers and sisters.
Trick-or-Treat was three hours long, too, and not just an hour window kids are offered today so that meant a pillowcase was in order when strolling the streets to haunt as many houses with front porch lights on. With that amount of time, the children in Elm Grove could cover all of the Patterson area, the Island kids could get to all the homes on one end or the other, and trick-or-treaters in Woodsdale could cover most homes between Edgington Lane and Bethany Pike.
Good Staff, Bad Stuff
And those neighbors earned reputations, too, based on their treats and decorations. Those full-sized bars earned those folks most positive marks, but the residents that decided apples and oranges were good ideas most likely had a lot left by the end of the evening. If a house was decorated well, though, and the grownups tried to spook the trick-or-treaters, even a baggie of candy corn was good enough because the scare tactics were appreciated.
Sure, it rained and sometimes even snowed, but it was during a warm Halloween when those plastic masks would stick to cheeks, and make-up would dribble off the face. On those evenings, the pillowcase was key because the face coverings would end up in the bag with the candy or the linen would be used to remove the remaining cosmetics.
It was Halloween, and the kids made it creepy, and if a friend wore their football uniform, at least they would swipe Mom’s red lipstick and add some blood. Carved pumpkins were on every porch, and some even had two gourds, and the conversation always went, “TRICK OR TREAT!”
“Well now, what are you kids this evening?”
“I’m Dracula!” “I’m Carey!” “I’m Casper!” “I’m Cinderella!”
Yeah, there were those “princess” kids back then, too, but it was the 1970s, after all.
